


Turn the Page

by Harpokrates



Series: Little Lies [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dogfight - Freeform, Gen, gonk droid, the ship kind not with animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harpokrates/pseuds/Harpokrates
Summary: Forced to land on an Imperial base, Luke makes a decision about his new employer.
Series: Little Lies [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596328
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	Turn the Page

"You've got about an hour of fuel left." Luke observed, tapping the gauge with his finger in hopes that it would tell him otherwise. "I told you the tank took damage. We've probably been leaking since Talay."

"And it isn't fixed because?" Fett had his rifle disassembled and laid out over a small bench.

"I'm sorry, do you have a space suit onboard this thing? Are you going to give me your armor? Should I just hop out into hyperspace?"

"Can it." Fett brought up an interstellar map. "There's a space dock at Bothawui."

Luke leaned over and looked at it. "Isn't that a gas giant?"

"Yeah. The Empire has a training base in the asteroid ring. A camp town sprang up around it."

"Great." Luke rolled his eyes. "Do you ever go places that aren't criminal cesspits?" 

"Part of the job description." Fett sat down in the pilot's seat. Luke made sure Gonk was up and running before strapping himself into the co-pilot's chair. The engine whined as they dropped out of hyperspace, but it didn't stall out and start shaking.

"See," Luke gestured towards Gonk, buzzing away in the corner, "he's helpful."

"You just don't have the stomach for flight."

Luke considered arguing, but that would mean talking about Tatooine, and he wasn't ready to do that yet.

"Sure. It's that and not your bad piloting."

"Knew you'd agree with me."

Luke rolled his eyes and watched Bothawui come into view through the transparisteel viewscreen.

"I didn't know a planet could be so blue." He remarked quietly.

"You should see Kamino." 

"What's that like?"

"Water everywhere. It's a giant ocean with neverending rain."

"What's an ocean?"

Fett looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He leaned over and sent his ship ID code to the control tower, then brought the Slave-1 down for landing. They docked next to an Imperial troop transport. Luke craned his neck to watch it.

"Thinking of joining up?"

Luke snorted. "Just thinking. I'm old enough to be drafted. I had a buddy on Tatooine who enlisted as a pilot so they couldn't get him for the Stormtroopers."

"Hn. You don't have to worry about that anymore." 

Luke didn't comment on the oddity of the statement, but instead triggered the bay door. He patted Gonk absently as he walked past, buckling his tool belt around his waist.

The artificial atmosphere on these stations always smelled funny—like engine exhaust and ozone. Luke walked around the Slave-1 until he came face to face with the fuel tank. It was mostly internal, but had a small external section and an access port. It was pocked with blaster fire. He ran his finger over the damage until he found a divot.

"Yeah, this is it." Luke called out to Fett. He stuck his pinky in the hole, and it came out covered in iridescent blue hypermatter. "You're lucky this didn't decompress when we went into hyperspace."

"Too busy trying not to get shot at. How long 'til it's fixed?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Fett. "You don't even ask if it  _ can  _ be fixed." He shook his head. "The access panel will be easy to replace; I've just gotta find a new one. Until then, you won't be able to go into hyperspace."

He wiped his hands off on his jumpsuit. It would be easy enough to find the dockmaster, but probably less easy to beg an access panel off him, if the ones they held in stock to fix Imperial shuttles could fit an older Firespray.

Luke set off towards the nearest Stormtrooper. Fett followed him. Luke stopped. Fett stopped.

"What are you doing?" Luke looked back at him.

"Looking for an access panel."

Luke huffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't need a babysitter, Fett."

"History would beg to differ."

Luke's jaw tensed at the reminder of Savareen. "Whatever."

He flagged down the Stormtrooper and got directions to the civilian shipyard. It was on the edges of the asteroid port, and he caught sight of Bothawui through the thin atmosphere. His legs suddenly felt wobbly. Luke shook it off and waved at the yard owner, Fett looming over his shoulder like an ominous, heavily armored shadow.

"Hey! I'm looking for a Firespray fuel access panel!"

"Will a Delta-7 work?" The man shouted back.

Luke looked at Fett, who shrugged. He sighed. "Let's see it!"

The yard owner hefted up a rectangular access port, about the size of Luke's torso.

"Yeah! That'll work!"

"One-fifty credits!"

Luke held his hand out to Fett.

"What?"

"Your ship, your money. Pay up."

Luke could almost  _ hear _ Fett roll his eyes, but he pulled the credits from a pocket and handed it over. He fetched the panel (it was lighter than it looked), and started trekking back to the ship, Fett dogging his footsteps the entire way. 

Luke had the damaged panel removed and was fitting the wiring together when a pair of Stormtroopers approached the ship. Fett glance over from where he was leaning on the landing gear.

"Could I see your identification?" The more senior of the two asked. 

"Who's asking?" Fett took a step towards them.

"Standard procedure."

"You didn't want our IDs when we landed." Luke griped, heaving the panel up into position. It snapped into place with a dull thunk.

"There's been a security alert. Show me your identification or you'll be taken in for questioning."

Luke glanced at Fett, who looked as blank as he always did.

"Well?"

The other trooper radioed for backup. Luke looked between them and Fett. "Ah, Fett…"

"It's on the ship." Boba finally said.

"Sure," the senior trooper said flatly. "Hey, kid!"

He waved Luke over. Luke pointed at himself.

"Yeah, you. Come wait with us while your buddy gets his papers. You got ID?"

"Not my buddy," Luke muttered under his breath, then aloud: "Ah, no. I don't."

His Imperial identification papers were at Uncle Owen's farm, or possibly had been incinerated at Jabba's. Either way, they were beyond his reach.

The junior trooper muttered something to the senior, who nodded. "C'mere, kid. You too, Mando. Nice and quietly. Hands up."

Fett went for his gun, and fired off a shot, clipping the junior trooper on the shoulder. The senior trooper shouted and hit him with a stun. Fett crumpled.

Luke's arms shot up in the air. "I'm not with him, I don't know him, I'm just the mechanic."

The backup Stormtroopers arrived and picked up Fett between the two of them. The senior trooper yanked Luke's arms behind his back and cuffed him.

"Alright. How about you come have a chat with the boss?"

What a day this was turning out to be.

The Stormtroopers frogmarched him into a small detention cell and hauled Fett off out of sight. He gave them his name and date of birth (he'd long since forgotten his ID number) and they searched him, but found nothing but his clothes. Then they left there long enough that he started to wonder if they'd forgotten about him (or, more likely: Fett woke up, killed everyone, and left).

"Hands out." A Stormtrooper snapped. Luke looked over from where he was counting tiles on the ceiling. He put his hands through a gap in the energy field and the Stormtrooper clapped a pair of real stasis cuffs on him. His hands and forearms instantly went numb.

"Walk. No funny business or you'll end up like your Mandalorian friend."

"Sure. No funny business."

The trooper lead him out of the holding area and into an administrative area of the base. He ended up in a fairly nice room. It was possible it was an interrogation cell, but the carpet seemed too nice for that. An older man in neat civilian dress sat behind a desk.

"You cuffed him?" He frowned, his forehead wrinkling.

"Standard procedure."

"Well uncuff him right away!" The man snapped. The trooper gave the impression of rolling his eyes and let Luke go. His hands remained numb, but they didn't tingle anymore.

"Sir." The trooper saluted and left.

"Well." The man shook his head and gestured to a chair on the other side of his desk. "Please, sit. I'm Swa-Lu Lauderslag. You might call me the governor of this little rock, but I'm more of the file organizer. Ah-ha."

Luke forced a smile, watching the man cautiously. He had a fake, toneless laugh, but it went well with his artificial smile. He was an officer, judging by his grey shirt, but it didn't seem like he was particularly high ranking. His collar had been starched at some point but it was crumpled now. He brushed a speck of dust off his desk.

"Mr. Skywalker," he leaned forwards, "may I speak plainly?" Without waiting for Luke to answer, he continued. "When we ran your file—you aren't in trouble by the way—but when we ran your file, we found something a little disturbing. You see, an individual named Jabba the Hutt, from Tatooine, placed a bounty on you." He gestured with his hand. "We check the bounty registries when we run identification chits. You'd be surprised what we find, ah-ha."

"Okay." Luke said slowly.

"Well, that bounty claimed you were an escaped slave. He wanted you returned to him."

"So are you gonna do it?" Luke watched him.

"Goodness, my boy, no! Slavery is illegal!" He pulled a datapad and a holochip out of a drawer and handed it across the desk to Luke. "This is for you. It's a copy of the report I'm going to submit to the Imperial Sentient Rights Commission. You may be contacted to testify in the future."

Luke read through the charges for one Jabba the Hutt and laughed. When Swa-Lu looked at him, he dropped his face into his hands and shuddered his shoulders.

Swa-Lu looked sympathetic. "I've included contact information for a support group. You aren't the only person this has happened to, my boy. It's lucky that we found you when we did; that bounty hunter was no doubt on his way to claim your reward." His face twisted with distaste.

Alright, now he was getting somewhere that wasn't confusing. "What's going to happen to him?"

"Hm? Well, he'll be sent to prison—probably Dathomir, judging by his record."

"What? Why?"

Swa-Lu looked a little confused. "Why, sentient trafficking, of course. Not to mention assaulting an Imperial Stormtrooper. And," he cut himself off, "well, we won't dwell on the past. Don't worry, my boy, he'll be put away for a long time. He won't be able to hurt you."

Luke stared at him flatly. "You will tell me about Boba Fett's past."

The man's gaze went slack. Luke winced and pulled back. "Boba Fett has an outstanding Republic warrant due to his jailbreak in 1 BED."

Interesting. "What happened to Boba Fett's ship?"

"The modified Firespray, Slave 1, is being held in Imperial Impound Lot Three."

"I am free to go."

"You are free to go."

Luke left the datapad and stepped out into the hall. Okay. Find ship, fix ship, leave. Easy. He rounded a corner and spotted a pair of Stormtroopers walking towards him. Not easy.

There was no place to hide. Luke pressed himself against the wall.

"Don't notice me." He groaned. The thought looped through his head. If he were spotted, they'd escort him out with a pat on the head and he'd be stuck on this stupid rock until the universe imploded. Luke tried to think of a good excuse when the Stormtroopers turned the corner. Luke froze.

They walked past him, continuing their conversation. Luke blinked. Maybe the peripheral vision on those helmets was as bad as it looked?

Or maybe it was something he didn't want to think about. Either way, he followed them.

"I'm serious. A buddy from my training unit was on the station."

"No way." The other Stormtrooper shook his head. "You're full of shit."

"Look, I'm just saying what he told me: some old hobo and a spice runner nabbed a prisoner and bolted."

"Then your buddy is messing with you. Hey," he elbowed the Stormtrooper, "you think the big guy was there? He's supposed to be stationed somewhere up top."

"D—uh." He coughed. Luke leaned forwards as much as he could risk. "Nah, my buddy says he doesn't spend much time outside of Imperial Center."

"Your buddy the droid repair guy? Yeah, I'll believe that."

"Hey, if it's not true, then why are we on high alert?"

"Uh, the boss is neurotic? But hey, he was right. We got that Mandalorian guy."

Other scoffed. "Yeah, that freak down in J-level? Heard he broke YG-134's hand when they yanked that helmet off him. You see his rap sheet?"

"Nah, what's it like?"

"He's got a record from  _ before _ Empire Day."

"I guess your buddy told you that too? He doesn't look nearly that old."

Luke stopped following them when he came to a door that looked like an exit, letting their conversation trail off into the distance. He cracked the door open and peeked outside. Yes ships, no Stormtroopers in sight. He slipped out the door and into the impound lot. The Slave 1 had been towed in by a tugship and left to rot in the far corner of the lot.

He sprinted across the lot and rounded the ship, triggering the bolts on the new access panel, then hopped from one foot to another until the bay doors opened enough for him to crawl through.

"Hi, Gonk, time to go!" He said, hurdling the pilot's seat and sprinting through the preflight checks. Luke looked up, and caught a glance of Bothawui, swirling in the darkness.

He sighed, and dropped his head onto the yoke.

Gonk beeped at him. 

"Yeah. I know buddy."

Luke pushed himself upright and slapped himself. When the guilt didn't go away, he plugged Gonk into the navconsole. 

"Okay. When I get back, I need the ship to be airborne. Got it?"

Gonk honked affirmatively.

"Okay." Luke exhaled. He opened the bay door a crack and peaked out. There was a solitary Stormtrooper on patrol. Luke rolled out of the bay door and landed on his hands and knees, crouched behind the bulk of the ship.

What to do…

Well. Luke shrugged and stepped into view.

"Hey!" The Stormtrooper marched towards him. "This is a restricted area!"

He gave the Stormtrooper his best innocent look—all wide-eyed, tow headed farmboy. "Sorry, I think I'm lost."

"Look, kid, you can't be back here." The Stormtrooper holstered his rifle and waved Luke towards himself. "C'mon."

"You want to give me your armor."

"I want to…"

"You want to give me your armor." Luke said more confidently. "It's time for you to take a break, remember? You want to give me your armor and go back to barracks."

"I… yeah. I want to give you my armor and go back to barracks."

The Stormtrooper started pulling off his armor, leaving him in a black body glove. Luke put it on as he took it off. The khaki of his clothing showed through the joints, and it was too big on him, but it was good enough for a first glance. Luke waited until the confused Stormtrooper stumbled away to heft up his gun and march back inside.

The Stormtroopers said he was in J-Level, wherever that was. Luke started peering down the halls, looking for a sign or directions or anything.

"Hey!"

Luke froze. There was an officer in smart grey walking down the hallway. Luke tapped his hand to his forehead in a pathetic salute.

"Sir?"

"Where are you supposed to be, trooper? Are you trying to skive off work again?"

"Uh, no sir. I just got turned around." An idea flashed through Luke's head. "I'm assigned to J-Level."

The officer sneered at him. "The lift banks are  _ that _ way." He pointed behind Luke. "What's your PN?"

"Um."

"Your  _ personal number _ , trooper!"

"Uh. YG-134."

"Expect this entire incident to be reported to your direct superior, YG-134. Dismissed."

"Sir."

Poor YG-134. Luke waited until the officer left, then hurried down the hall to the repulsor lifts. 

"Okay," he mumbled to himself, "J-Level." He hopped in the lift and hit the button for 'J', then slammed the 'close door' button with his numb finger until the safety rails slid shut. He held his breath as the floors flashed past, praying to whoever was listening that no one tried to join him.

He hit J-Level right when he asked the Hutt slug deity for help. Luke grimaced.

"Thanks, Boonta." He peered around the corner. A pair of Stormtroopers were idly playing sabbac in front of the entrance to the detention row. Luke inhaled and steeled himself.

"Hey," he waved to them as he walked down the hall. He wasn't even sure if his tricks could work on more than one person, and helmets messed it up.

"Hey," one of them said without looking up.

"Boss wanted you two up at the dockyards. He's increasing security again." Luke hoped his voice didn't actually sound as high as it seemed.

"Fuckkkkk no!" The other Stormtrooper groaned. "It's cold up there."

Luke shrugged. "Boss's orders. He, ah, he said it came from up top. The big guy. He was on that station that got hit."

"Shit, really?" The first Stormtrooper looked up. "I thought TK-123 was blowing out his ass."

"Yeah," Luke nodded, then focused. "You should go up and see him. It's important."

The second Stormtrooper nodded. "Yeah. Let's go. It's important."

"Thought you were griping about the weather?" The first one sighed. Luke turned his attention.

"You should go to. The big guy will be mad if you don't."

Luke felt the man's spike of fear. He shot to his feet, practically dragging the other Stormtrooper towards the lift bank. Luke didn't bother waiting until they were out of sight to pop the keypad and pull wires until the door slid open. He ran down the hall, chinning himself up to the lasergrid windows to peek into the cells.

Nothing, nothing, scowling Togrutan, nothing, drunk Stormtrooper, and finally, Fett. Or at least a humanoid shape with its face recessed in shadow.

"Fett." He said. The man moved.

Luke heaved a sigh of relief and broke that keypad too. The door slid open.

"Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?"

"Huh? Don't hit!" Luke brought his arms up and yanked off his helmet.

"Skywalker?" Fett sounded genuinely shocked.

"In the flesh. C'mon, let's go."

"I—" He was still lingering in the dark. Luke rolled his eyes. 

"Here!" He tossed the helmet at him. Fett pulled it over his head. He wasn't wearing his armor, just the dirty utility suit he wore under it.

"Where's your stuff?"

Luke poked his head out of the cell.

"The first room—processing."

"Okay. Let's go, jailbird." Luke rushed down the hall, Fett following him closely. He was a little stiff and stumbling, but getting hit with a stun blast did that to a person. He tried to pull back the panel, but his fingers were too numb. Instead, he smashed it in with the butt of his rifle. 

"That's not gonna—"

The door opened.

"No time—in!" Luke pushed Fett through the door.

"I'll keep an eye out. Get your armor." Luke rolled his head through the door, trying to keep as much of himself as possible out of view. Fett got himself together fairly quickly, for all that he kept dropping things. The Stormtroopers hadn't come back yet, so Luke's tricks must have worked on them. He could only hope that they didn't run into the pissy officer roaming the halls.

"Okay," Fett grunted, straightening up, "catch."

Luke twisted around and caught the Stormtrooper helmet Fett lobbed at him. He was leaning heavily against a shelving unit, but at least he had his armor on—not that it would be any good if he got hit with another stun bolt. "Thanks. It's up the lift and then out to the impound lot."

Fett nodded and pushed himself off the shelf, and almost immediately crumpled to the floor. Luke tried to haul him up, but he was scrawny. "C'mon, you've gotta help me here."

"You think I'm not trying?" Fett sounded out of breath.

Somehow, he managed to stagger to his feet. Luke looped Fett's arm around his neck and supported him as best he could. Together, they slowly walked down to the lifts. Luke propped Fett against the railing and pressed the call button.

The lift slid open. Luke came face to face with another Stormtrooper.

"Hey—"

"Get in the lift, prisoner!" Luke snapped, grabbing Fett by the collar and shoving him into the lift.

"He's getting transfered?" The Stormtrooper said, stepping out of Luke's way as he blustered onto the lift after Fett.

"That's what my orders say. Boss wants to see him."

"Governor Lauderslag already talked to him." The Stormtrooper watched him suspiciously.

Luke shrugged. "I just follow orders, man."

The repulsorlift doors closed. Luke watched through the viewport as the Stormtooper tapped the side of his helmet.

"Okay, we have to hurry."

"He call an alert?" Fett managed.

"I think so? You okay?"

Fett grunted. "Getting feeling back in my legs."

"Good, cause we're gonna need it."

The repulsorlift brought them back up to the entrance level. Luke jammed his rifle in the small of Fett's back.

"Get moving, prisoner."

Fett staggered forwards, his head snapping back at Luke.

"I can feel you glaring." Luke whispered tersely. "Play along."

Fett lingered for a second, then started the slow march down the corridor. They were almost at the end of the hall to the liftbank before a pair of Stormtroopers stepped into their path.

"Keep moving, prisoner!" Luke barked, grabbing Fett's shoulder to help push him along faster.

"Halt," One of the Stormtoopers said. He was clearly higher ranking, judging by the orange shoulder pad he wore.

"Sir," Luke said, "I'm moving this prisoner, sir."

"I didn't get any orders about a prisoner transfer."

"It must have just come through. I—"

An alarm began blaring. The second Stormtrooper had his blaster out and trained on Luke within seconds.

"Drop the weapon and put your hands up."

Luke glanced between them, before shoving Fett at Shoulderpad. He used his trick to yank the gun from the Stormtrooper. It clattered to the floor, and Lue threw his blaster at the Stormtrooper.

"Let's go!" Luke shouted, grabbing Fett and breaking into a sprint. Luke slammed the exit open with his shoulder, head tucked low to avoid the blaster bolts.

The Slave-1 was running, hovering slightly off the ground. Luke helped Fett crawl up through the bay door, then accepted his hand up. Luke left Fett on the cargo bay floor and ran to the pilot's seat, hurtling into it.

"Time to go, Gonk!"

Gonk warbled and returned ship controls to Luke. The Imperial control tower broke through their comm system.

"Firespray, you are not cleared for takeoff. Cut engines and prepare to be boarded."

"No thanks." Luke reached under the console and yanked a handful of wires out. The comm system shorted out with a beep.

"Gonk! Take over the canons!"

Luke yanked up on the yoke as he activated the accelerators. "C'mon!"

It was an ugly takeoff, but they were orbital quickly. Gonk honked.

"Two Imperial ships, behind us. Gonk, keep them from getting too close."

Gonk honked agreeably and fired a volley of shots just above the noses of the ships. They returned fire. Luke rolled the ship to avoid it. He yanked the yonk, making a hairpin turn and doubling back towards the fighters. The Slave 1 was slower than the Imperial fighters, which made sense, considering its age, but whatever modifications its previous owner had installed made it far more maneuverable.

"Get to hyperspace."

Luke looked back. Fett was leaning heavily against the bulkhead, half resting on Gonk.

"I gotta get these guys off our tail first!"

Luke dipped back towards the base, weaving in between the various control towers and antenna.

"Pull up!" Fett shouted in alarm.

"Its fine!" Luke protested. He jerked the yoke left and narrowly missed a transmission tower. The fighter chasing him wasn't so controlled. Luke smirked, then pulled up, gaining altitude. The other fighter was climbing behind him, rapidly gaining on him. 

"You're within firing range." Fett collapsed into the co-pilot's seat.

"Got it." Luke pulled up until… now!

He flipped the Slave 1 over itself, ending behind the fighter. "Gonk, clip his engine!"

Gonk honked, and the laserfire hit the fighter in a flash of green light. It wobbled, but the pilot took the better part of valor and slowly spiraled back towards the base.

They burst free of the artificial atmosphere in a shower of crystallized moisture. Fett rapidly typed in co-ordinated, and Luke slammed the ship into hyperdrive.

The stars around them elongated and then faded into streaking white light.

Luke gasped, letting go of the yoke and collapsing back into the pilot's chair. He punched his finst into the air, whooping with excitement.

"We did it!" He turned to Fett and grabbed his shoulders. "We did it!"

Where did you learn to fly like that?" Fett clapped a hand on Luke's shoulder, then let him go.

"Beggar's Canyon, on Tatooine. I borrowed a buddy's skyhopper."

"You pulled off stunts like that in a skyhopper?" Fett stated incredulously.

"Well, no." Luke held up his hands, "but there's no time to learn like the present."

Gonk honked.

"Right, right." Luke reached over and patted the droid. "Thanks, Gonk. That was some great shooting."

"How is the droid accessing the weapons systems?" Fett asked suspiciously.

"I may have been retrofitting him with astromech subroutines." Luke said. "It works."

"I can't believe you." Fett shook his head. "You're crazy, Skywalker."

Fett sagged in his chair, watching Luke. Luke was about to say something about it, when Fett spoke up.

"Why'd you come back for me?"

"Huh?"

Fett shifted in the pilot's chair, looking back at him. "If I were you, I'd take the Slave-1 and bolt. This thing is worth money. You could sell my gear, start yourself off somewhere else. Pay back Jabba and go home."

Luke looked away.

"I guess I'm a better man than you, Boba Fett."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually remember if I wanted to add notes for this. Oh well. Please leave a comment if you liked it!
> 
> Oh yeah! BED is Before Empire Day. They can't well use BBY when Yavin is a week away.


End file.
